• The Inside Line

Porsche Supercup: A different path

It's the other category that runs on most F1 weekends, the racing series that doesn't offer up and coming young drivers a clear path to the top of single-seater racing. So what does the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup offer? Jonas Krauss, series manager, explains to Kate Walker in the first of a two-part interview.

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First and foremost, drivers hoping to translate a seat in the Supercup into a Formula One drive should prepare to be disappointed. GT racing is no route into F1. Instead, it offers an entirely different - and just as competitive - path.

"We want to show the drivers who maybe won't make it to Formula One a different option," Krauss says. "We are proof that there is an option. When you look at all the drivers who come out of the Porsche one-make Cups, who come out of the Supercup, the Cup Deutsche, and all the others, there are a lot of drivers who've become a works driver or a professional driver. You don't have to become a works driver to earn money out of racing. So this is how we want to position the Supercup - as a platform to become a professional racing driver. Here, it's all about the driver. We don't have any balance of performance, so when we look at potential new works drivers we can see that this driver has the capabilities. It's about the driver, not about balance of performance.

"If you come to the Supercup, most of the time your single-seater route is gone. We had Richie Stanaway last year; he did one season in Supercup then went back to GP3, but usually this does not happen. Most of the drivers come out of GP3 and Formula 3 and see that they have to take a different way, as by then most of them want to earn money from racing, and then they step into our Porsche one-make Cups.

"This is a platform for us. We have our own driver development programme, and when you look at our junior drivers they come mostly out of the formula world. We had Mike Christensen; he did two or three years of GP3 then went into our driver development programme and now he's a works driver. A couple of weeks ago he had a test in our LMP1 car. Obviously this is a very attractive environment for us, because if you are already in GP3 and F3 you are already kind of a professional driver. You already understand what needs to be done to be successful in racing."

But skilled drivers who are realistic about their career options can find a happy home in Porsche's range of motorsport activities, if they are skilled enough, as Krauss explains.

"Whenever we talk to formula drivers we always ask them if they have decided on a route. If they have decided on a Formula One route then we shouldn't be talking at this stage because it's the dream of every racing driver to become a Formula One driver. For sure, that's a fact. But some drivers just say 'okay, I need to be realistic now, I won't make it', and then maybe it's right to move to GT racing. First of all we ask these drivers 'what is your personal goal?'. If your personal goal is to become an F1 driver then you shouldn't go into GT racing. It doesn't make sense.

"When you look at, for example, Michael Christensen, he was a formula driver, then for two years he was a junior driver, now he is with our GT programme in the US, driving a works RSR, obviously there is potential. There is a motorsport pyramid and the pinnacle in LMP1. The god thing is if you start with Porsche in a one-make cup then move up to a GT works team then maybe take the last step - move up to LMP1. It's possible. We've already shown it."

And what of a Porsche LMP1 team comprised only of drivers who have worked up through the Porsche motorsport pyramid?

"It would be the perfect scenario, but on the other side the LMP1 team has to seek out the best drivers. If it's a guy from one of the Porsche one-make Cups, that's perfect for us, but if not? We understand. The LMP1 team has to be successful."

Part two of the Krauss interview will be published on December 30

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.

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